Bio/Pharma HEOR Executives Identify Improving

HEOR Writing Skills as Leading Priority

Drake, T1 and McClain, B2

1Global Outcomes Group, Inc., Reston, VA, USA, 2Grapheme Consulting, Inc, Greensboro, NC, USA

Objective: Pharmaceutical organizations are accountable for developing scientific literature

to disseminate product health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) data. It is not known

whether professionals in HEOR approve of the quality of materials being disseminated, or how

often these documents are developed internally vs. outsourced. Therefore, the objective of this

study was to assess the perceived level of quality of HEOR materials and to identify who

develops the materials for dissemination.

Methods: We surveyed HEOR executives to gauge their perspective on quality of HEOR

communications using a 16-question on-line survey disseminated in July 2014. Participants

were recruited from HealthEconomics.Com newsletter subscribers and LinkedIn, and a small

incentive offered to three randomly chosen respondents. Descriptive analyses were conducted

on all questions.

Results: Fifty nine surveys were returned fully or partially completed. Eighty-eight percent

(n=52) of respondents have advanced degrees, 43% (n=25) were employed by bio/pharma

companies, 78% (n=46) are HEOR executives and 50% (n=29) had more than 3 years in their

current position. Forty-seven percent (n=28) of respondents use internal medical writing teams

and 62% (n=36) subcontract writing to outside vendors. Dossiers are the most frequent item

outsourced (45%). Forty percent (n=26) of respondents indicated they outsource manuscripts

and 25% (n=15) of respondents outsource abstracts. Consistently across several quality

measures, approximately 55% (n=32) of respondents were not satisfied with the quality of writ-

ing for their communication materials. Improvement in value messaging and methodology

were the two most cited areas of concern about writing quality beyond the general question

about satisfaction with overall writing quality.

Conclusion: More than 50% (n=29) of HEOR executive respondents seek better quality in

written documents and more appropriate terminology in addressing their business objectives

with scientifically rigorous content. Therefore, it is apparent from these survey results

that HEOR executives consider nearly half of all their communications to not be well written.

ABSTRACT RESULT (CONTINUED)

RESULT

HEOR Executive’s Positions and Demographics

Associate/AssistantDirector, 14%

CEO, 9%

Director, 33%

Manager, 33%

VP, 12%

What is your primary job title?

Associate/Assistant Director CEO Director Manager VP

Key Demographics

• Diverse site of employment: 43% Pharmaceutical companies, 23% Consulting,

10% Agency

• 88% have advanced degrees with 44% Masters, 35% PhDs, 5% MDs and

4% PharmDs

Key Influencers of HEOR Data Use

73%

43%

76% 79%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Commitment to pursuepatient centered outcomes

Concern regarding risk of offlabel drug use

Requirements for thedevelopment of targetedtreatment algorithms

Stakeholder concerns aboutincreasing direct medical costs

Please rate the influence of the following factors on your use of HEOR data

Participants were asked to rate factors that influence their use of HEOR data on a

5-point scale ranging from 1= Never to 5= Frequently. The factors that received

the highest percentage of moderate or high influence ratings were development of

patient-centered outcomes, development of targeted treatment algorithms and

stakeholder concerns about direct medical costs. The “concern regarding risk of

off-label drug use” received a lower rating 43% (n=25).

Professional Involvement in Developing New

Content

34%

43%

44%

63%

70%

73%

Medical Education

AMCP Dossiers

Global Value Dossiers

Manuscripts

Abstracts

Slide Decks

How often are you involved in developing and/oroverseeing the content presented below?

HEOR executives indicated that they are most frequently involved with the

development of slide decks and least frequently involved with developing medical

education content.

Professional Practice of Utilizing Outside Vendors

57%

62%

65%

65%

82%

Abstracts

Dossiers

Posters

Market Access Reviews

Manuscripts

What, if any, HEOR publication and/or communicationneeds do you sub contract to an OUTSIDE vendor?

• Sixty-two percent (n=36) subcontract work to outside vendors with manuscripts

being the most frequently outsourced item

• Forty-seven percent (n=28) have internal writing teams

Level of Agreement on Quality of HEOR

Deliverables

45%

28%

46%

45%

38%

43%

Good Reseource for Internal Customers

Directed for my needs

Methodology for Patient Reported Outcomes

Methodology for Statistics

Value Messaging for External Customers

Overal Satisfaction with Quality of HEOR Content

Please rate your level of agreement regarding the qualityof HEOR publications that are developed for your use

with customers/clients/stakeholders.

Respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement regarding the quality of

HEOR publications for stakeholders.

Quality of HEOR publications was a concern by the majority respondents. Fewer

than one-half felt the tools were well-written or had sufficient quality. Similarly, a

substantial number had a low overall satisfaction rating (defined as “not satisfied

at all”).

• Whether developed by internal or external resources, more than half of HEOR

executives are not satisfied with a the quality of content

HEOR Executive Experience

0 6 months, 7%

7 12 months, 18%

1 2 years, 26%3 5 years, 26%

6 10 years, 14%

10+ years, 9%

How long have you been in your current position?

• 50% with more than 3 years in current position

Web sites: Global Outcomes Group, Inc.: www.globaloutcomesgroup.com

Grapheme Consulting, Inc.: www.dataanddonuts.org

Tom Drake Bonny McClain

• Majority of HEOR executives are dissatisfied with quality of HEOR content

• Most HEOR content is outsourced to external groups

• Fifty-five percent (n=32) of respondents were not satisfied with the quality of

writing for their communication materials

• Improvement in value messaging and methodology were the two most cited

areas of concern about writing quality

• There is an opportunity to train both internal writer and external subcontractors

to better develop optimal HEOR communication tools

SUMMARY

• Develop ongoing writing development program for enhancing HEOR writing

skills

• Provide strategy sessions on developing/writing HEOR tools and skills

• HEOR Executives and Writers should avail themselves of HEOR writing

workshops

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS